Marie, Reine du Sange
by Courier999
Summary: Following the events of "In Blackest Day", a reunited Mystery Inc., along with the Grimwood girls, John Constantine, and Zatanna travel to New Orleans to investigate the latest in a series of bizarre homicides- only to get caught up in a centuries-old supernatural conflict in the process. Rated T for scary content, violence, and Constantine's mouth. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

SCOOBY-DOO: Marie, Rein du Sange

_Scooby-Doo_, DC Comics, and related characters are property of Warner Brothers.

Chapter 1: Old Friends, New Mysteries

_Glenn's Diner- Weinville, Louisiana_

"…_and in other news, New Orleans police have found another victim in a bizarre string of homicides. The victim was found dead and drained of blood in a French Quarter alleyway shortly after dawn. While the NOPD has yet to find a suspect, local gossip claims it to be the work of one Marie, Rein du Sange- an entity that has allegedly visited the Crescent City on multiple occasions in the past-_"

There was a subtle clicking sound as one of the diner staff changed the channel.

"Well, it looks like we've got a mystery on our hands." a young man with a blond pompadour said.

"Freddy, perhaps we should leave this to the police- I mean, homicide investigations are a bit beyond our pay grade." a redheaded woman in a purple top and green scarf replied.

"C'mon, Daph- where's your sense of adventure? Besides, don't you have a black belt in karate?"

"Yes, but we're a bit…undermanned as it were."

Just then, Fred's eyes lit up.

"Wait- aren't Shaggy, Scooby, and Velma supposed to be in the area?"

Daphne let out a sigh as she grabbed her cell phone.

"And here we go again…" she said to nobody in particular.

* * *

_Miss Grimwood's Finishing School for Ghouls- several miles up the road and several minutes later_

A six-wheeled van with a red paint job and an impressive amount of luggage tied to its roof made its way down the winding side road that led to the nearby Calloway Military School.

"Like, are we sure this is a good idea?" Shaggy asked.

"Well, it's not a bad one." a nearby Constantine replied from his spot in the back of the van.

"Besides, it's a good first step towards the betterment of ties between humanity and monsterdom-" Velma began.

"I meant taking them with us and the gang to, like, check out that business in New Orleans that you said Daphne mentioned in her call."

"Considering the general weirdness in that city, I think they'll blend in pretty well. I mean, the only other place they'd blend in better would be Gotham-"

"Sorry for butting in on this lovely conversation, but there's a bloody turn coming up!"

Shaggy promptly made a hard turn, causing some of the luggage to threaten to come loose. Fortunately for all parties involved, the ties held, and the van continued on towards Weinville.

* * *

"_We fired our cannon 'til the barrel melted down, so we grabbed an alligator and fought another round! We filled his head with minie balls and powdered his behind- and when we touched the powder off, the gator lost his mind!_" Phantasma sang before breaking out into her distinctive laugh.

"…wh y'd they do that to the poor alligator?" Tanis asked.

" It's poetic license, Tanis. They didn't actually use an alligator as a makeshift cannon." Velma replied.

Just then, the van came to a sudden stop in front of a textbook example of Googie architecture, an old neon sign with the words "GLENN'S DINER" periodically flashing before them. Sitting there in the parking lot was a '60s-style blue panel van with a distinctive horizontal green stripe going around the body.

"So, how do we want to handle the issue of who goes in which vehicle?" Shaggy asked.

"Simple- you, Scooby, Scrappy, and I ride in the Mystery Machine with the others, while the Leaguers and the girls take your van." Velma replied.

Right on cue, Fred and Daphne exited the diner, prompting the four other members of Mystery Inc. to disembark.

"Nice to see you guys again!" the former said.

"Like, nice to see you too!" Shaggy replied, taking his friend into a vigorous handshake.

There was a brief silence as the assembled crew let everything sink in.

"So, what brings you around this neck of the woods?" Velma asked.

"I'm writing a book- a Southern Gothic type of thing, so Fred and I figured we'd go out and do some field research." Daphne explained.

Velma gave a quick nod before her mind drifted to more current matters.

"Um, we've got some friends in the other van. So if you see it following us, don't worry about it." she said.

"Thanks for letting us know." Fred replied.

A few minutes later, both the Mystery Machine and Shaggy's van pulled out of the parking lot, bound for New Orleans.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

For my international readers, Phantasma's little performance here is an excerpt from "The Battle of New Orleans", a country song originally written and performed by folk musician Johnny Driftwood, but popularized by a cover version performed by Johnny Horton that was released in 1959.

Unlike "In Blackest Day", this is going to have a heavier emphasis on the Scooby-Doo side of the crossover than the DC side, by which I mean there's going to be a proper mystery this time around. As for the DC elements, this going to reach deeper into that publisher's archives, by which I mean there's going to be more than a few relatively obscure characters showing up.

As for the inevitable question regarding whether or not Moonscar Island and its inhabitants will show up- well, all I'm currently willing to say on the matter is that the residents of the Lenoir estate may have some unwelcome guests who also feed upon their victims' life force…in a manner of speaking, that is.

As for the names of both the diner and the town, they are references to Glenn Leopold (writer of _Ghoul School_, _Zombie Island,_ and _Witch's Ghost_) and _Swamp Thing_ co-creator Len Wein, respectively.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: On the Case and On the Hunt

"Well, gang, here we are- the Big Easy." Fred announced as the Mystery Machine entered the city limits.

"So, where we staying?" Velma asked.

"Hotel Monteleone in the French Quarter." Daphne replied.

"Can we even, like, afford that?" Shaggy piped up.

"Considering this is Daphne we're talking about, the answer is probably yes." Velma replied.

* * *

"So, here's the plan- I go with the Mystery Inc. crew and start digging into this mystery proper, while you keep an eye on the Grimwood kids." Constantine said.

"And why can't it be other way arou- oh right, you'd be a terrible influence on children."

"Alec's kid would beg to differ."

"That's because she knows on some instinctive level that her 'Uncle John' is in fact her real fa-"

"It's not my fault that Alec lost his wedding tackle when he became a bloody plant man! Besides, it was a favor for a friend!"

"What are you talking about?" Tanis asked.

"Grown-up stuff." Zatanna replied, shooting a dirty look at Constantine.

"Don't act like you're innocent in this!" the JLD's resident Brit exclaimed.

_Can't live with him, can't sell him for parts._ Zatanna thought.

* * *

Several minutes later, the two vans pulled up in front of the hotel, with the red six-wheeler parking right behind the Mystery Machine.

"Well, gang, here we are- home sweet home for however long it takes us to crack this case." Fred announced.

"Um, I know it's a bit late to be bringing this up, but how are we going to Scooby and Scrappy in there?" Velma asked.

"We'll find a way." Daphne replied.

* * *

_So, this is where you've led me this time._ a black-haired man with red eyes, streaks of white in his hair, and dressed in old-fashioned clothing and a billowing cape thought as he walked through the terminal of New Orleans International Airport, a white-haired man with a mustache and a red-haired woman following close behind.

* * *

_Hotel Monteleone- several minutes after check-in_

"Well, this is…interesting." Sibella said as she examined the suite that Daphne had managed to reserve.

" Just 'interesting'? This is perhaps one of the best haunts I've seen, and you find 'interesting'?!" Phantasma indignantly replied.

"Like, don't take it personally, Phanty. I'm pretty sure that Sibella didn't mean it as an insult." Shaggy said in a valiant effort to play peacemaker.

Zatanna sharply exhaled.

"Well, since I'm tasked with watching you girls, how about we go on a bit of sightseeing while Constantine and the rest of Mystery Inc. handle the actual initial legwork of the case?" she said.

"Like, can we come with? Scoob and I'll, like, get the Cliff Notes from the others."

"…very well."

* * *

_NOPD 8th District Sub Station, Royal Street_

"So, what brings the famous Mystery Incorporated to the Crescent City?" a police officer asked.

"We heard about the recent homicides, and we'd like to lend a hand."

"Considering our luck with the investigations thus far, feel free. Just leave the forensics work to us- last thing we need is anyone screwing up a crime scene."

"Thanks, Officer-"

"Breaux. Now, how can I help you?"

"Can we have access to the case files?"

"I'll have to clear it with my superiors first, but if they give the okay- yeah, you can have access. Anything else?"

"Are there any commonalities in the killings?" Velma asked.

"Same cause of death: total or near-total exsanguination. Beyond that, the only other commonality is that they're all taking place in the older parts of the city- the Quarter, Garden District, Tremé, and so on."

From his spot near the back of the group, Constantine's mind kicked into gear.

_I think I've got a good idea as to what's going on around here…_ he thought.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Regarding the identities of the new arrivals, that'll be revealed later on. And as for the girls' clear supernatural natures and the general public…well, considering this is one of the DC universes with all the aliens, super-advanced tech, and so on and so forth, five odd-looking girls probably won't raise too much of an eyebrow unless they do something particularly blatantly supernatural.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Friends or Foes?

_French Quarter_

"What've we got, Professor Troughton?" a green-haired teenager asked as she eyed a strange group of passers-by from the passenger seat of a battered old sedan.

The gray-haired driver of the vehicle chomped down on the toothpick currently in his mouth.

"Apart from the renowned Zatanna Zatara, a young woman wearing what I can only presume to be a full-body application of purple make-up, and some hippie with two Great Danes- one grown, the other a real tiny puppy- we've got a regular monster mash here. Notice the ghost, the juvenile werewolf, the abnormally small mummy with a hair bow on its head, and the Frankenmonster trailing behind the three normal people and the dogs."

"Prof, what if the purple chick is, y'know, one of-"

"Miss Rafelson-"

" Call me Trig."

"Very well, _Trig_. As for your question, if it turns out that she's associated with the Cult of the Blood Moon or its kindred, we'll deal with her in the usual way."

* * *

"Guys, do you feel like we're being watched- and not in a good way?" Shaggy asked as he noticed a battered old sedan in his peripheral vision.

"Call it a gut feeling, but I think we are." Sibella replied.

"Well, if anyone's out there spying on us, I'll splat 'em!" Scrappy exclaimed, punching at the air in his enthusiasm.

A tense silence settled over the group.

"Okay, everyone- how about we grab lunch?" Zatanna asked.

* * *

_New Orleans Public Library, Main Branch- Central Business District_

"Okay, Velma, what've we got?" Fred asked as he leaned in over a computer terminal.

"For starters, this 'Marie, Reine du Sang' figure's been around for some time if what I've found here is anything to go by." came the reply.

"How long, exactly?" a nearby Constantine asked.

"If these old newspaper articles are to be believed, at least since World War I. That being said, I'm willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that whoever this 'Reine du Sang' is, they've paid the city at least one visit before the 20th century."

"_Anything else of interest?_"

The quartet of sleuths jumped in surprise before noticing a nearby man with a full head of red hair.

"Well, hello there." Daphne nervously said.

"Ralph, don't startle us like that!" Constantine exclaimed, a groan soon passing through his lips.

"Wait- you know this guy?" Fred asked.

"Yes, so let's get the introductions out of the way. Fred, Daphne, and Velma, this is Ralph Dibny. Ralph, this is Fred Jones, Daphne Blake, and Velma Dinkley of Mystery, Inc. Any questions?"

Fred raised a hand.

"Yes, Mister Jones?" Constantine asked.

"So, Mister Dibny, what exactly brings you to New Orleans?"

"NOPD asked for my help in solving the recent 'du Sang' killings. You?"

"We heard about the killings on the news, drove here, and offered to help the police solve the mystery."

A broad smile formed on Ralph's face.

"Well, since our goals are aligned, how about we team up and see where that gets us?"

"We'll take all the help we can get." Fred replied as he shook his new cohort's hand.

* * *

"…that is not a po'boy by any stretch of the imagination! That is a dagwood that just so happens to fill the space between half a loaf of New Orleans French bread!" Zatanna exclaimed as she saw just what Shaggy and Scooby had bought for their lunch.

"So the legends were true." a stunned Phantasma whispered.

"How are they going to even eat those?" Winnie asked.

"At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if their jaws unhinged like a snake's!" Zatanna replied.

"Well, this is something I've got to see…" Sibella said.

Out of the corner of her eye, Tanis noticed a battered old sedan in the distance.

"Um, Miss Zatara-"

"Run along, Tanis. Right now, Miss Zatara needs to have a word with Coach Rogers and Scooby Doo about how they spend the money that Miss Zatara was kind enough to give them to pay for their lunch…"

* * *

"Um, Prof?

"What is it, Tig?"

"That hippie-looking guy and the grown Great Dane? Considering how much they're about to eat, I don't think they're normal after all…"

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

The bit with Zatanna lamenting Shaggy and Scooby's eating habits was inspired by a brief scene in _Zombie Island_ where the two were at a sandwich shop and were given what was supposed to be a po'boy (for international readers or those not well versed in American cuisine, a type of sandwich that was invented in/is commonly associated with New Orleans), but in actuality resembled a dagwood sandwich (aka those ridiculously tall sandwiches you typically see in old comic strips or cartoons, including various installments in the _Scooby-Doo_ franchise).

For those of you not well versed in DC lore (or for that matter, those of you who never watched the _Batman: The Brave and the Bold_ cartoon from the late 2000s/very early 2010s), Ralph Dibny is the superhero known as Elongated Man, and is one of the few people whose detective skills might rival those of Batman's- though admittedly, Ralph's specialty is more deductive reasoning as opposed to Batman's expertise in criminology. As for who Tig and Professor Troughton are…well, to say anything about them at this point would give the game away.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Getting In the Legwork

"So, what's our plan of attack here?" Dibny asked.

"You and Miss Dinkley handle the bookworm stuff, while Mister Jones, Miss Blake, and I go see what the locals have to say regarding Miss Reine du Sang." Constantine replied.

"You do realize that going up to random people on the street isn't going to get you anywhere, right?" Velma piped up.

"Who said anything about random people on the street?"

* * *

_M.J. Edmond's Voodoo Emporium, French Quarter- a few hours later_

There was a curt rapping noise as Constantine knocked on the door, followed by the sound of footsteps approaching said door. A few moments later, the door swung open to reveal a middle-aged black woman.

"Can you _imbésil_s not read? The sign says we're closed on-"

"Miss Edmond, we're not here for your services or your wares." Constantine said.

"Then what _are_ you here for?"

"Information."

"You think I'm going to talk to a bunch of strangers who can't even specify what sort of information they want? Because if you do, you won't get it."

"By hook or by crook, we will."

Just then, Fred stepped in.

"Pardon my friend's behavior, Miss Edmond."

"Who are you and why should I believe you'll be any better?"

"My name's Fred Jones of Mystery Incorporated, and we're here to ask you some questions about the recent homicides."

"If you're accusing me of committing those killings, then you've got another thing coming!"

"We're not accusing you of anything, Miss Edmond. Again, we just want to ask some questions."

A tense silence settled over the scene.

"Very well. You and your female companion come inside. The _troud chi_ in the trenchcoat stays outside."

"Now hold on a bloody minute! Don't you know who I am?"

"No, and I don't particularly care."

As if to emphasize her point, Edmond slammed the door in Constantine's face once Fred and Daphne were inside.

"So, what can I do you two for?" Edmond asked as she, Fred, and Daphne each took a seat.

"We want to ask you about Marie, Reine du Sang." Fred said.

"All I know about the killings is what I've read about in the papers." came the reply.

A scribbling sound filled the air as Daphne put pencil to paper.

"That's good to know, but can you tell us about the entity the killings are supposedly connected to?"

" I know little about Marie, and what I do know is secondhand knowledge from the folks who live in the bayou."

"Please, tell us anyways."

Edmond took a deep breath.

"According to the swamp folk, Marie, Reine du Sange is not a local creature. Instead, she passes through New Orleans from time to time, leaving only bloodless corpses in her wake."

"Can you tell us anything else, like when she first appeared?"

"Local legend says that she first passed through around the time of Jean Lafitte. After that, she seems to only appear in times of war or strife. Sadly, my friends, that is all I know of the subject."

"Can you direct us to someone more knowledgable on the subject?"

"Clément Thibodeaux. Lives out in Maurepas Swamp about 30 minutes west of here. And while you're there, tell him that Michaëlle Edmond says hello."

* * *

"Hey, guys- I think I found something!" Shaggy exclaimed.

_Probably a hot dog cart._ Zatanna thought as she homed in on her companion's voice.

"What is it this time?" she asked as she rounded a corner.

Just then, her eyes went wide as she saw just what Shaggy and Scooby had found. Before the three was what looked like several blotches of dried blood on the cobblestones.

"Coach Rogers, I'm pretty sure that the CSI team already took samples of that bl-" she began.

"Like, not that! That thing on the sidewalk nearby that they must've missed!"

Zatanna's gaze was drawn to a small object right near one of the blotches. From where she stood, it resembled a red crescent moon.

"…congratulations, Coach Rogers. It seems as though you may have found what could prove to be a vital clue." she said.

"Want me to, like, pick it up?"

"Yes."

Shaggy gave a quick nod and walked over to the object, which he could now clearly see was a pin of some sort.

_Okay, Shaggy- do it like Velma taught you._ he thought as he removed a clean handkerchief from his pocket.

A moment later, Mystery Inc.'s resident coward leaned in and picked up the pin, taking a moment to securely wrap it up the handkerchief before putting it back in his pocket.

* * *

"Well, it's like Detective Breaux told me and the rest of the crew." Velma said as she examined her and Dibny's handiwork.

Sitting on the wall of Mystery, Inc.'s hotel suite was a cork bulletin board adorned with a map of New Orleans, which was in turn adorned by a number of pushpins- most of which were clustered around the older parts of the city, with only a handful scattered across more recently-developed areas.

"Didn't you tell me that he said that _all_ the killings were happening in the older parts of the city?" Dibny said.

"Considering how few happened outside the parts in question, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on this one."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Born on the Bayou

_Maurepas Swamp_

"Sure was nice of that man at the rental place to give us directions to that Thibodeaux guy's residence." Fred said as he and Daphne paddled their kayak through the bayou.

"Yeah, but I can't help but feel a little dirty about it- I mean, fifty bucks in cash just for directions kinda feels like a bribe to me." came the reply.

All around the two stood a vast cypress forest, the calls of songbirds, herons, and the occasional bald eagle eagle echoing through the trees. Joining in on the avian medley were the intermittent bellows of bullfrogs and the chirping of cicadas.

"_Jambalaya and a crawfish pie and filé gumbo…_" Fred quietly sang.

"Sounds like Scooby and Shaggy's lunch menu." Daphne good-naturedly teased.

"Nah- if that were the case, we'd have to add dirty rice, étouffée, and if they're feeling particularly adventurous, fried alligator." came the reply.

The two shared a laugh at their friends' notorious gluttony as they continued onward.

* * *

"So, what happened to the whole sightseeing plan?" Velma asked as Shaggy and company returned to the suite.

"Like, we found this near what we think might've been the site of one of the killings." Shaggy replied as he removed the handkerchief from his pocket and put it on the desk.

"If that's what you found, it's probably useless as a clue by n-" Velma began.

"It's not the hanky. It's, like, what's inside it."

As if to emphasize his point, Shaggy unwrapped the handkerchief to reveal the pin inside.

"Jinkies!" Velma exclaimed as she saw what her cohort had recovered.

A nearby Dibny leaned in to examine the pin.

"That symbol looks familiar…" he said to nobody in particular.

"So what is it?" Velma asked.

"If what I've gleaned from the League's database is correct, then it's the sigil of the Cult of the Blood Red Moon."

* * *

The residence of Clément Thibodeaux was, to put it diplomatically, not much of a place. To put it less diplomatically, it was a dingy old houseboat that looked as though it had first hit the bayou somewhere around the time of the Great Depression. The red paint on the walls had long since faded, and what paint hadn't faded had long since peeled off. From their kayak, both Fred and Daphne could swear they heard the distinct hum of a portable generator coming from behind the residential quarters.

_What a dump!_ Daphne thought as she eyed the houseboat.

Just then, the front door opened, and an old man walked out onto the front porch.

"You with Wildlife and Fisheries? Because I'll tell you what I've told the last bunch of agents-" the man proclaimed in a thick Cajun accent.

"Easy, sir- we're not with the state government."

"Then who are you and what're you doing on my property?"

"I'm Fred Jones, my companion is Daphne Blake, and we're looking for a Clément Thibodeaux."

"Well, you found him. Now what do you want from me?"

"A woman named Michaëlle Edmond said you knew something about Marie, Reine du Sang." Daphne replied.

Thibodeaux's eyes went wide.

"How do you know about her?"

"There's been some killings in New Orleans, and the local scuttlebutt there is that it's been her handiwork."

Thibodeaux let out a deep sigh.

"Come in, the both of you. Let old Clément tell you what you need to know."

* * *

The interior of the houseboat was about as dingy as the exterior, with all manner of junk cluttered around what was presumably the main room and a thin layer of dust covering _that_.

"Come on, don't be shy- take a seat." Thibodeaux said, gesturing to a nearby couch.

Fred and Daphne cautiously sat down, both of them worrying about the couch's structural integrity.

"So, what exactly _is_ she?" Fred asked.

"Thing about that is that nobody seems to agree. Some say she's a vampire like the kind that Rice woman wrote about, others say she's a revenant of some sort, and still others say she's a demon from Hell itself."

Once again, a scribbling sound filled the air as Daphne put pencil to paper.

"What else do you know about her?"

"Whatever she is, I don't think she's the only one of her kind. When and wherever she strikes, she's always followed by an outfit called the Cult of the Blood Red Moon."

"What exactly is this cult?" Daphne asked.

Thibodeaux's eyes suddenly lit up.

"They're an army of the dead and damned, gathered together to eliminate those who would defend mankind so they can steal men's souls and make them their slaves unopposed!" he ranted.

"Mister Thibodeaux, are you sure you aren't-" Daphne began.

"I've seen what they do with my own two eyes, and then they sent their goon squads after me! That's why I live out here in the bayou, where they can't get to me!"

"Um, thank you for your time, Mister Thibodeaux. We'll be going n-"

The old Cajun shot up from his seat and pressed something into the palm of Daphne's hand.

"It'll do ya a world of good, little lady!" he said.

As the two members of Mystery Inc. returned to the kayak, Daphne looked at what Thibodeaux had given her- a small crucifix carved from cypress wood.

_What have we gotten ourselves into this time?_ she thought.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Devil Rides Out

The sound of footsteps on cobblestone echoed through the dark streets of the French Quarter, their source navigating their way back home. The source in question was a young early twentysomething brunette named Tanya Jones, a Biochemistry major at the nearby Loyola University. The good Miss Jones was making her way back to the apartment she shared with a few good friends after having to work late on a lab project. If she had any idea of what was about to happen, she'd have probably slept in the lab that night.

The air was thick and muggy that night, but Tanya had long since accepted the high humidity as being part and parcel of life in New Orleans. As she walked down the cobblestone streets, surrounded on either side by buildings designed in long-passed architectural styles ranging from Spanish Colonial to Victorian, with the occasional smattering of more modern-looking buildings. Out of her peripheral vision, the young woman could swear she saw a figure flitting around on a nearby rooftop before dismissing it as a figment of her imagination.

Denial, as the saying goes, isn't just a river in Egypt- and Tanya Jones was about to learn that the hard way. As she marched through the Quarter, a nagging feeling resounded in the more primal regions of her brain- the feeling that she was being stalked by someone or some_thing_. As this nagging feeling worked its way into the rest of her brain, her mind strayed from its initial task of finding the way back home, and before she knew it, the good Miss Jones found herself lost and in a dark dead-end alley- right where her stalker wanted her.

_How in the hell did I end up _here? she thought as she surveyed her surroundings.

Just then, she felt a chill work its way up her spine, the primal portions of her brain alerting her to the presence of a nearby lurking predator. As the adrenaline rushed through her veins, her head moved as if it were on a swivel as she instinctively searched for that predator. And as she looked up, she saw what had been stalking her- a red-haired, red-eyed woman crouched upon a nearby rooftop. Tanya barely had any time to scream before the woman leapt down with inhuman grace, lunging for her neck…

* * *

_The next morning_

"What've we got here, officer?" Dibny asked as he looked at the crime scene.

"From the looks of it, another attack by the Reine du Sang- except this time, there's no body." came the reply.

Dibny's gaze shifted towards the dried blood on the cobblestones.

_ No sign of smears, so the body wasn't dragged away. Let's see what else we've_-

Just then, Dibny saw two distinct sets of bloody footprints heading away from the crime scene.

_ Maybe the victim tried to run away? No- if that were the case, one of the sets would be trailing behind the other instead of side-by-side. And considering the amount of blood that seems to have been lost, why didn't the police find a body in the general area when they arrived? A passing Good Samaritan? If that were the case, why aren't there prints heading_ towards_ the crime scene? This case just gets curiouser an-_

"_We found something!_" a member of the CSI team announced.

Dibny snapped out of his episode of contemplation and turned his attention to the source of the announcement.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Looks like a wallet."

"Victim or perpetrator's?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say the victim's."

* * *

_NOPD 8th District Sub Station, Royal Street_

There was a distinct "Hmmm" from one of the forensic lab technicians as he examined the now-opened wallet.

"What've we got?" Dibny asked.

"Student ID from Loyola. At least we've got a name and face for the victim now- Tanya Jones, your average Caucasian early twentysomething college student." came the reply.

"So now what?"

"We start looking for the good Miss Jones, that's what."

* * *

_Somewhere on Bourbon Street_

Constantine looked up from his latest drink to see a black-haired man with red eyes and streaks of white in his hair dressed in old-fashioned clothing and a billowing cape, accompanied by a white-haired man with a mustache and a red-haired woman.

"Nice to see you and your entourage again, Andrew. What brings you here?"

"The same thing that's sent me across the world for the past four centuries." the man in the cape replied.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Masquerade Out the Window

The assembled members of Mystery Inc. were gathered around their suite's coffee table.

"So, what've you guys found?" Fred asked.

"Like, Scooby and I found a pin for some outfit that that Dibny guy says is called the Cult of the Blood Red Moon." Shaggy replied.

"Isn't that the name of the 'army of the dead and the damned' that Mister Thibodeaux mentioned?" Daphne asked.

"Come to think of it, it is!" Fred replied.

The sound of pencil against paper resounded through the suite as Velma wrote down the apparent connection.

"Now, has anyone found more-" she began.

Just then, a blue spectral head phased through the floor.

"Whatcha doing?" the head asked.

A pregnant silence settled over the room as Fred and Daphne stared on in disbelief.

"…who are you?" the latter finally asked.

"I'm Phantasma, daughter of _the_ Phantom-"

"Like, I can explain everything!" Shaggy piped up.

_Now this I've got to hear._ Daphne thought.

"So, remember back when, like, me, Scoob, and Scrappy were on the road?"

"Kind of."

"Well, we were, like, a bit short on cash, and then out of the blue came, like, a job offer."

"What sort of job offer?" Fred asked.

"Like, a phys ed teacher at a finishing school for girls out in rural Louisiana."

"And how does this pertain to the ghostly head poking through the floor?" Daphne asked.

" What the offer didn't tell us was that it was a school for girl ghouls!"

Fred and Daphne promptly broke out into raucous laughter.

"Okay, Shaggy- that's the funniest thing I've heard in a while! You and Scooby working at some kind of ghoul school instead of running away at the first chance you got? That's priceless!" the latter exclaimed as she wiped tears from her eyes.

"Oh, they tried to that first night, but they managed to stick around after that." Phantasma said.

All mortal eyes focused on Shaggy and Scooby.

"They're, like, good kids. That and we'd signed a contract with the school."

Phantasma then proceeded to fully phase through the floor.

"Whatever reason they had for staying on, Coach Rogers was probably the best teacher we ever had- and I'm not just saying that because he helped us break our losing streak in our annual volleyball game with the military school next door or because he saved us from being enslaved by an evil witch!"

Fred and Daphne blinked at the ghostly girl's statement.

"…are we sure we're talking about the same Shaggy?" the former finally asked.

"Of course, we missed him when he ran off after some new students showed up, but then he came back to apologize and ended up saving us from some supervillains!"

"Pull the other one, it's got bells on." Daphne said.

"I was there on his apology visit, Daphne. I saw him take on some of the most dangerous people on the world without a moment's hesitation just to protect the girls." Velma replied.

"Since when is Shaggy that brave?"

The gang's resident coward took a deep breath.

"Let's just say that you shouldn't threaten or hurt my students, because you really don't want to meet that guy."

A tense silence settled over the room.

"…so, can you tell us about the other students?" Fred asked

Shaggy proceeded to stand up and turn around to face the bedroom.

"Girls, they know now. You can show yourselves."

Right on cue, the other Grimwood students entered the main room.

"Like, let's get this show on the road. Gang, these are Sibella Dracula, Winnie Were-"

"Griffith."

"Winnie Griffith, Elsa Frankenstein, and Tanis." Shaggy said.

"…pleasure to meet you all." Daphne said.

"_Fang-tastic_ to meet you too." Sibella replied.

"Like, get used to the bat and vampire puns. It's kind of her thing." Shaggy said to Fred and Daphne.

"So, why'd you keep this a secret from us?" the former asked.

"Like, I didn't know how you'd react to meeting real live monsters." Shaggy replied.

"It doesn't help that we monsters've had to deal with some _bat_ apples such as the various imposters who've besmirched my father's name or that Abbot fellow from Intergang." Sibella added.

"Yeah- you try and go public, and then every nutcase with wooden stakes, silver bullets, and if that guy with the weird mask is anything to go by, Nth Metal weapons!" Winnie piped up.

* * *

_Unknown location_

A young brunette woman snapped awake as she found herself in a dark room, her limbs shackled to the wall.

"_Good, you're awake. For a while there, I thought it wouldn't have taken._" a feminine voice said.

"Thought what wouldn't have taken?" the brunette asked.

"_My gift. Can't you feel it- your senses sharpening, the craving for blood spreading through your being? Now, my child, I welcome you to the Cult of the Blood Red Moon._"

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Sibella's line about imposter Draculas is an attempt to square the more benign version of the count as seen in _Ghoul School_ with the more villainous ones as seen in the DC comics and other media (particularly the version depicted in the Elseworlds story _Batman: Red Rain_).

Regarding Winnie's surname, the version of the character in this particular offshoot of the DC multiverse is the daughter of Warren Griffith, the resident werewolf of the Creature Commandos- seeing as how little screen time and characterization the Grimwood girls' fathers got in _Ghoul School_, I've decided to merge them with pre-existing DC characters with the exceptions of Dracula and Phantasma's father. For the record, Tanis's father in Earth-55 is Khalis, the Creature Commandos' medic and resident mummy.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Into the Feelings of the Hunter

_Bourbon Street- several minutes before Fred and Daphne learned of the existence of the Grimwood girls_

"Well, Mister Bennett- it took you long enough to show up. Perhaps this time you'll actually catch your psychotic ex-girlfri-" Constantine said to the man in the billowing cape.

Before he could finish his statement, the British occult detective felt a hand wrap around his neck, followed by his feet leaving the floor.

"You dare make light of the evil that she and her followers have done?" the caped man snarled.

"Andrew, you're choking me…" Constantine wheezed.

Andrew's grip loosened, and Constantine promptly fell to the floor with all the grace of a sack of potatoes.

"Now, what are you doing here?" the former asked.

"Working with Ralph Dibny and an outfit called Mystery Inc. to investigate a string of homicides that seem to be the handiwork of the Cult of the Blood Red Moon." came the reply.

Andrew glared at his cohort.

"You'd dare paint a target on the backs of this…Mystery Incorporated outfit? Is there any low you won't sink to, Constantine?"

"They were the ones who decided to start poking around in the first place! Besides, that didn't stop you from taking Dmitri under your wing or recruiting Deborah!"

"They were already in her sights, John!"

"And now they have to deal with those arseholes from the Order of the Van Hel-"

There was a sound of splintering wood as a green-haired teenager kicked in the door, wearing a bracer on her forearm with a crossbow on the top and carrying a hatchet on her hip. Behind her was an older gray-haired man with an exasperated look on his face.

"Rafelson, what have I told you about the benefits of the stealthy approach?" the latter snapped.

Constantine let out a groan.

"Oh, it's you again, Troughton. And I see you've got a sidekick this time."

Rafelson let out an indignant snort at the second part of the remark.

"Whatever you two're up to, you can go away because my associates and I have got this under con-"

"What associates?" Rafelson asked, pointing her crossbow at the center of Constantine's chest.

"Zatanna and some outfit called Mystery Inc. Now if you would be so kind-"

He was promptly cut off by Rafelson slamming his head into the bar.

"We know about Zatanna and the monsters following her. Tell us about _them_ and we'll let you walk!" the young woman thundered.

"Why should I, you bloody reject from a Hammer flick?!"

* * *

_Several minutes later_

"Congratulations, Rafelson-"

"It's Tig, Prof."

"Considering what you've just done is liable to put us in the Justice League's bad books, I'll call you whatever I want. For the life of me, I have no idea why you thought it was a good idea to knock Constantine out and shove him into the trunk of the car!"

"So we can get him to talk!"

"And how, pray tell, are you going to do that when all you've done has undoubtedly made him _less_ likely to tell us anything?"

"Why do you think we're heading for the 17th Street Canal?"

"You wouldn't-"

"Prof, you need to put aside the whole 'BFFs with Andrew Bennett' thing, because it's compromising you as a member of the Order!"

"And you need to see a goddamn therapist, because nothing good can come of th-"

Tig slammed on the car's brakes.

"Well, we're here. Now, let's see if we can't get the Brit to sing like a canary."

Inside the trunk of the car, Constantine struggled to break free of the handcuffs that Tig had slipped onto him.

_Those wankers she and Troughton take orders from are going to be in such deep sh-_

Before he could finish the thought, the trunk filled with light, and he could see a psychotically-grinning Tig looming overhead.

"And now what do you want?"

"We want information."

"You won't get it."

"By hook or by crook we will."

_And when I said it to that Edmond lady, it was because I always wanted to say those words! Screw you, karma!_ Constantine thought.

"Now, we can do this one of two ways- either you sing like a canary, or we see how long you can hold your breath." Tig continued.

"Wait, wha-"

Constantine soon found himself dragged out of the trunk and being frog-marched towards the waiting canal.

"You wouldn't!" he exclaimed.

As if in reply, Tig kicked him in the back of the knee, sending him down into a kneeling position right next to the canal.

"Now, you want to tell us about your partner and her monster pals?" the former growled.

"Go to Hell, you c-"

"Wrong answer."

Tig then shoved Constantine's head down, the JLD member's face getting ever closer to the water of the canal…

* * *

"So, Sibella- if you're a vampire, what do you do about the…well, you know-" Daphne asked.

"Blood bank whenever possible, nutria when I can't get access to that." came the reply.

"…what's a nutria?"

"Basically a beaver-sized rat. Apparently, they're a big enough problem that the state pays a bounty for every one killed, so feeding on them is a win-win as far as I'm concerned."

* * *

"Now are you ready to talk?" Tig hissed as she pulled Constantine's head out of the canal for the fifth time in twenty minutes.

"Maybe you should be going…oh,I don't know, the Cult of the Blood Red Moon as opposed to a bunch of child monsters who're harmless by comparison? Or did you forget that where Andrew Bennett and company are, Mary Seward and her flunkies are usually there already?" Constantine retorted.

"He has a point, Rafelson. Even if those kids _were_ a threat, Seward and her associates take precedence." Troughton said.

Tig let out an annoyed growl.

"…fine!"

* * *

"So, Winnie- when you, like, mentioned that all kinds of nutcases emerge whenever you guys try to go public, are there any specific ones?" Shaggy asked.

"Yeah- an entire outfit of 'em called the Order of the Van Helsings. From what I've heard, those guys have it out for every last vampire on the planet and they don't care about anyone who gets caught in the blast radius. Hell, if what Papa told me is true, some of 'em'll go after any monster, fangs or no, as well as any regular people who they feel are getting a bit too friendly with monsterdom."

Shaggy gulped.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

The chapter title is a reference to a line from the original novel version of _Dracula_, where shortly after the iconic "children of the night" line, the eponymous Count tells Harker that "you dwellers in the city cannot enter into the feelings of the hunter".


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Red in Tooth and Claw

The air was still over the French Quarter as Sibella strolled along the cobblestone streets on a moonlit walk.

_ There's a strange beauty to this place- one that I don't think I've ever experienced anywhere in the world of monsterdom. The way that the glow of the streetlights plays across the buildings, the melange of styles among those buildings- to think that until now, the most that I had seen of the world of humanity was a small, sleepy town in the middle of nowhere!_

Just then, the young vampire's train of thought was derailed by a woman's scream coming from a nearby alley. Almost as soon as she had heard the scream, Sibella broke into a sprint, racing towards the source of the cry with preternatural speed.

* * *

A blonde-haired woman stood at the back of a dead-end alley, her breath coming in fits and starts as a shadowy figure approached her.

"_There, there- this won't hurt…much._"

As the figure drew closer, the would-be victim noticed her attacker's blood-red eyes and a pair of fangs glistening in the moonlight.

"_Now, any final words?_" the figure sneered.

"_WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!_" another voice cried out.

The figure turned its attention to the entrance to the alley and practically glided away from the original victim.

* * *

Sibella's eyes were laser-focused on the figure emerging from the alleyway, the moonlight gradually revealing that it was a woman with red hair and red eyes, deathly pale skin, and a good-sized pair of fangs emerging from her upper jaw.

" Well, well, well, what have we here?" the woman sneered as she eyed Sibella.

"I am Sibella, daughter of Count Drac-"

The woman snorted.

"You think that I care about your lineage, little girl?"

"Well, who are _you_ then?" Sibella retorted.

"I am Mary Seward, Queen of Blood, founder of the Cult of the Blood Red Moon, and the baddest bitch who ever lived! I have walked this earth for over four centuries, little girl- and tonight, I will break you!"

And with that, Mary leapt up onto a nearby rooftop and made a run for it.

_You're not getting away that easily!_ Sibella thought.

And with that, the daughter of Dracula assumed the form of a bat and followed the fleeing Queen of Blood.

* * *

_And she's taken the bait._ Mary thought as she dashed from rooftop to rooftop, smirking as she saw Sibella trailing right behind her.

Just then, the older vampire was struck by an ear-shattering screech, followed shortly by the sound of hundreds of approaching bats flying on leather wings.

_Clever girl, but not clever enough._

Mary let out a screech of her own and sent the bats scattering before proceeding to vanish from the rooftop, a cloud of mist materializing where she had been standing a scant second before. And as Sibella's wings furiously flapped through the still night air, the transmogrified Mary promptly drifted into a conveniently-placed HVAC vent.

_You filthy cheat!_ the young vampire thought.

Suddenly, she saw a cloud of mist emerge onto street level, where it proceeded to reform into Mary's shape.

_I've got you _this _time!_

And with that, Sibella turned back into her humanoid form and leapt to the ground, her footfalls echoing through the French Quarter as she sprinted after her quarry. In the midst of her single-minded chase, she failed to notice a battered old sedan pull out of a side street.

* * *

"So, which one am I supposed to be shooting at?" Tig asked as she rolled down the right-side backseat window.

"The redhead!" Troughton replied as he jockeyed the car up to the vampire duo.

Just then, the older vampire hunter noticed that said redhead was now clinging onto the front of the car.

"Son of a-"

Troughton was promptly cut off as Mary opened the door, tossed him out, and took control of the vehicle.

"Now, you little Transylvanian brat- let's see how you handle 3-and-a-half tons of steel moving at high speed!" the latter cackled as she gunned the engine.

Sibella barely had time to react as the car's headlights grew closer…

* * *

"_Foreign types with the hookah pipes say 'Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh!' Walk like an Egyptian!_" a squad car's radio blared as its driver munched on a donut.

Just then, a woman's scream and the distinct sound of a person being hit by a car was heard in the distance. A few moments later, the squad car's engine roared to life, the radio went off, and the officer inside was making his way to the scene of the crime.

* * *

Sibella lay sprawled across the sidewalk, moaning in pain from the impact of Mary's attempted vehicular homicide. Already, her vampiric powers of regeneration were kicking in, damaged flesh and broken bones mending themselves at a preternatural rate.

_Note to self- visit the nearest blood bank as soon as possible._ she thought as she stood back up, a familiar craving working its way through her system.

Just then, she heard the sound of squealing tires and instinctively clambered up the side of a nearby building, narrowly avoiding a reversing Mary.

"Missed me!" the young vampire taunted.

The car's brakes squealed as it came to a sudden stop.

"Maybe I did, but _she_ won't!" Mary jeered as she leaned out the window.

"Who's 'she'?"

As if to answer Sibella's question, Tig emerged from the back seat with a glazed look in her eyes and her wrist-mounted crossbow aimed directly at the young vampire's heart. A moment later, a hawthorne stake went flying through the air, prompting Sibella to scramble up to the roof just before the stake made impact.

"Must I do everything myself around here?!" Mary growled.

A few moments later, the elder vampire raced up to the roof- and from where she stood, Sibella noticed that her opponent's fingers now terminated in razor-sharp claws.

"You do realize that if you do anything, my father will come down on you like a ton of-"

Before she could finish her threat, Sibella felt a wave of agony run through her as Mary's claws cut through her flesh, sending a gout of unnaturally bright red blood gushing from a series of gashes on her side.

"You asked for it!" the young vampire hissed as she bared her fangs, her eyes now red as blood.

Before Mary could react, Sibella was upon her, the latter's teeth digging into the elder vampire's shoulder and sending another gout of unnaturally bright red blood gushing onto the rooftop.

"Enough of this nonsense!" Mary snarled as she wrestled with Sibella, the two vampires rolling ever closer to the edge of the roof.

Sibella's bite slackened just long enough for Mary to gain the upper hand once more, pinning the younger vampire beneath her.

"And now, to end this!" the latter sneered.

The next thing Sibella felt was a pair of hands shoving on her back, followed by the distinct sensation of freefall. As she drew closer and closer to the cobblestone street, she could swear she saw a white sedan pull up right beneath her…

* * *

From within the squad car, the officer behind the wheel let out a frightened yelp as a young woman dressed all in purple crash-landed upon the hood of the vehicle. A moment later, instinct was overtaken by training, and the officer reached for his radio.

"Dispatch, this is Car 52. I'm on Royal Street, and I need some paramedics sent to my pos-"

Just then, the officer noticed that the woman was gone.

"Dispatch, please disregard the previous request."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

In case you're wondering, Mary, Queen of Blood is in fact a canon DC character. Originating in the pages of _House of Mystery_ in 1981, the good Miss Seward was originally the lover of an Elizabethan nobleman named Lord Andrew Bennett (aka that guy Constantine was talking with in the last chapter before Tig and Professor Troughton showed up) back in 1591. When Bennett was turned into a vampire, Mary asked him to turn her into a vampire too so that they would be together for all eternity. Unfortunately for Andrew Bennett, while he was able to hold onto his humanity after being turned into a bloodsucking terror of the night, Mary succumbed to her darker nature and created a group of vampires called the Blood Red Moon so that she could take over the world. Andrew, in turn, proceeded to spend the next several centuries trying to take them down in hopes of undoing his mistake.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Lean On Me

Listening was a struggle, and all she saw as inky blackness as she fought to regain full consciousness. Her throat was dry as the Sahara, and the hunger for blood burned in the pit of her stomach like a raging bonfire. The only sensation she could be certain of was that she was on a far softer surface than the cobblestones she had passed out on.

"…_looks like she's been through a hell of a wringer…_"

Even in her semi-conscious state, she could sense the warm fluid of life flowing through nearby veins. Without even thinking, the predator lunged at her target and bit down on the closest point of attack, ignoring the yelp of pain as the blood poured down her throat. Suddenly, the sound of a door being flung open echoed through her ears.

"_Like, what's going o-_"

"_I thought she was harmless, Rogers!_"

It was at that moment that Sibella returned to full consciousness, now noticing she was a) back at the hotel and b) had her fangs embedded in Constantine's forearm.

"'m sorry!" she exclaimed right before she removed herself from the arm.

"Are you, like , going to be okay?" Shaggy asked.

"If you're asking if I'm going to be turned into a vampire by this, then the answer's 'probably not'." Constantine replied before leaving the room.

"Coach, I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over m-" Sibella began.

The young vampire crumpled onto the floor as she proceeded to bawl her eyes out. A moment later, Shaggy knelt down and let his former student lean forward and bury her head into his chest, her tears soaking his shirt.

"Like, it'll all be okay. Whatever happened to you out there, you're safe now."

Sibella looked up with bloodshot eyes and tears still running down her cheeks.

"It's not okay! I just lost control and bit a guy! I'm supposed to be one of the good guys, not a blood-sucking predator like in the movies!"

As the waterworks opened up once more, Shaggy wrapped his arms around Sibella and pulled her into a hug. Just then, he noticed the torn parts of his former student's outfit.

"Who or what did you run into out there?" he asked as he examined the tears, noting that they were arranged in the positions of fingers on a human hand.

"There was this woman with red hair, and she was a- a- well, like me, but evil-" Sibella replied in between sniffles.

"I need you tell me more about this woman."

"Well, I heard a scream coming from an alley, and I saw her about to bite someone- Coach, you got a hanky or something?"

Shaggy nodded and gave Sibella the small piece of cloth in question. A moment later, the young vampire loudly blew her nose.

"Feeling better?"

Sibella meekly nodded.

"So, what happened after you saw her that first time?"

"We- we ran across the rooftops of the Quarter until she turned into mist and went to street level. Then she must've found a car or something, 'cause she ran me over- if it weren't for the vampiric regeneration thing, I wouldn't have made it otherwise."

"And your clothes?"

"We went back to roof level, and she turned the tips of her fingers into claws, and then she threw me off the roof!"

"And, like, who is this mysterious redhead who did this to you?"

"She calls herself Mary Seward…"

A pregnant pause settled over the room.

"So, how'd you get back here?"

"Some guy in a taxi saw me crawling away from the scene of fight, I told him where to go, and I must've gone out cold on the way." Sibella replied.

As Shaggy tightened his embrace, a single thought raced through his brain: _Mary Seward must die._


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: She's A Killer Queen

"So, now what do we do?" Velma asked as Shaggy finished recounting what Sibella had told him.

"We go after this Mary Seward creep and take her out." came the reply.

Constantine let out a snort.

"If only it were so easy- from what I've heard, she's got a knack for slipping away right when the walls are closing in."

"So we, like, bring the fight to her."

"Um, Shaggy, are you feeling okay?" Daphne asked, a look of worry plastered on her face.

"Remember when I said that when it comes to harming my students, you really don't want to meet that guy? Well, Seward just penciled herself in for an appointment with that guy."

"Listen, I hate to rain on this little vengeance parade, but we can't just go charging into whatever piece of real estate that Mary and her cronies've made into their lair and expect to make it out alive. Well, at least not without some highly specialized equipment." Constantine piped up.

"What sort of equipment are we talking about?" Fred asked.

"Equipment that only one person I can think of knows where it's kept."

* * *

_Tulane Medical Center_

"Nice to see you again, Troughton. Glad to see you're rocking the body cast look."

If looks could kill, then the glare that the vampire hunter in question was directing at Constantine would have caused the detective to keel over on the spot.

"Are you just here to be an ass, or are you here for an actual good reason?" Troughton snapped.

"Bit of Column A, bit of Column B."

"Get to the point, Constantine."

"Where's your sidekick?"

"Probably back at the safe house. What's it to you?"

"We're going to do your job and put an end to whatever Mary's got going here, and we need some of your gear to do it. So if you'd be kind enough to tell us where your safe house is-"

"Consider yourself lucky that I can't move my arms right now. Otherwise, I'd be sorely tempted to strangle you."

"Take a bloody number." Constantine snarked.

* * *

_Order of the Van Helsings Safe House- a couple hours later_

"Well, well, well- if it isn't John Constantine himself. Are you just a glutton for punishment, or is there a reason you're here at our doorstep?" Tig said.

"Here's the abridged version: my associates and I are going after the Queen of Blood ourselves, and we need some of your gear- namely those modified air guns and a whole lot of stakes."

Tig let out a groan.

"Fine, but you owe us for this."

"Okay, then- the next time you run into an old-as-balls and extraordinarily powerful vampire, give me a ring and I'll see what I can do. Now, if you would be so kind as to hand over the guns and the stakes, I'll gladly get out of your hair for the time being."

* * *

_New Orleans Public Library, Main Branch_

"So, what've we got?" Fred asked as he leaned in over Velma's shoulder.

"City and parish property records. Assuming that these vampires aren't squatting in some rundown derelict building, they'd have had to buy or rent somewhere to use as a central base of operations." came the reply.

"And considering that Seward doesn't particularly seem all that concerned about hiding her movements, it's highly likely she bought her lair under her real name or something phonetically similar to it." Dibny added.

Just then, Velma's eyes lit up.

"Stop your grinnin' and drop your linen! We've found a hit!" she exclaimed.

"What is it?"

"Old plantation house outside of the city limits called Pointe de Jordanie- purchased by one Marie Stuart."

"Pointe de Jor- okay, whoever named that place had a real sick sense of humor." Daphne piped up.

* * *

_Criollo, Hotel Monteleone_

"You know, if I weren't such a kind-hearted and generous woman, I'd have teleported you both to Blüdhaven for this…extravagant depletion of my bank account." Zatanna said as she looked over the veritable feast that lay before Shaggy and Scooby.

"This is, like, to help build up our courage before we go charging into the danger zone! Besides, this could, like, be our last meal!" Shaggy replied.

"Reah! Rast meal!" Scooby added.

It was at that moment when Zatanna noticed the nearby towering stack of empty dishes.

_And here I thought their idea of a po'boy was ridiculous!_ she thought.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: It's A Dead Man's Party

_Sutton's Bar- Bourbon Street_

"Well, this is it. If anyone wants to back out of the raid, then now's your last chance." Constantine said as he, Zatanna, Sibella and Elsa, and the assembled members of Mystery Inc. stepped out of Shaggy's red van and onto the curb.

The offer was met by stone-cold silence.

"In that case, let's get this show on the road."

And with that, Constantine opened the front door and the rest of the party filed in.

"So, why aren't we, like, going straight to the plantation?" Shaggy asked.

"Because we're picking up the last three members of the team, that's why."

"Oh, it's you again, Constantine- and I see you brought both Zatanna and some new friends. Care to introduce us?"

"Andrew, Deborah, Dmitri- meet Mystery Incorporated, Sibella Dracula, and Elsa Frankenstein. Mystery Incorporated and friends, meet Andrew Bennett, Deborah Dancer, and Dmitri Mishkin."

Andrew stepped forward, eyeing the new arrivals with some suspicion.

" Okay, Constantine- what're you playing at here?"

"These foolhardy sods think they can take out Mary, so Zatanna and I need you and your entourage to make sure they don't die. Besides, you owe me after that last battle with Eclipso."

Andrew clenched his teeth.

"John, has anyone ever told you that you're a colossal pain to work with?"

"It'd be easier to list the ones who _haven't_."

* * *

_En route to Pointe de Jordaine- a few minutes later_

"So, who exactly are you guys?" Daphne asked a nearby Deborah.

"Me? I'm just a girl who ended up in Mary's sights for some reason that I'll never know."

The red-haired vampire hunter let out a mirthless laugh.

"I mean, Dmitri and Andrew at least have personal axes to grind against her." she said.

"What sort of personal axes?"

"Way back when, Andrew and Mary were a happy couple, up until Andrew caught himself a nasty case of vampirism from a roadside bandit. Then Mary got it into her head that if she became a vampire, she and Andrew'd get to be together forever, and you can see how well _that_ turned out."

"And…wait, which one's Dmitri?"

"The one with the 'stache. As for what he's got against Mary, she killed his dad and turned his mom into a vampire back when he was a kid, and Andrew took him under his wing."

A tense silence settled over the van.

_I wonder how Dibny, Scrappy, and the other girls are doing back at the hotel…_ Shaggy thought.

* * *

"_When crime haunts the night, a silent crusader carries the torch of justice. Those with evil hearts, beware, for out of the darkness comes... The Gray Ghost!_" the television blared.

Phantasma, Scrappy, and Tanis's eyes were glued to the screen as the title card appeared, while Winnie sulked in the corner.

"Why didn't we get to go with Coach Rogers? I mean, we handled ourselves against the Legion of Doom, so why can't we go up against some evil bloodsuckers?" the young werewolf asked.

"Because according to what he told me, he didn't want to plunge you three into an overly dangerous situation. And he also told me that if you bring up the fight against the Legion of Doom, I was to remind you the main reason you girls made it out was because you had Swamp Thing on your side." Dibny replied.

Winnie let out a few indistinct grumbles under her breath before a seemingly sterling counterargument popped into her head.

"Then why'd he let Sibella and Elsa go?"

"In Elsa's case, it's because she's the physically strongest of you girls. As for Sibella, he said that it'd be a good way for her to work out her anger on Mary, Queen of Blood."

Just then, an idea popped into Phantasma's head.

"Going by Winnie's logic, why aren't you out there too?"

"Because it was either me or Zatanna who was going to have to stay behind, and Zatanna's going to be much more helpful against vampires than me!"

* * *

"So, how much experience do we need to use these things?" Velma asked as she examined the gun that Constantine had given her.

"Considering they're just modified airsoft weapons, not too much. Just remember to aim for the heart and you'll be golden." came the reply.

Just then, the van came to a stop in front of a stately antebellum mansion, the grounds seemingly devoid of human life even in the middle of the day.

"And here we go…" Constantine muttered to himself as the others filed out of the vehicle, watching as Deborah and Dmitri took up positions on either side of the front door.

* * *

"Any advice?" Fred asked Zatanna as he and the others assumed their positions around the front of the house.

"Follow Andrew, Deborah, and Dmitri's leads, stay in groups and watch each other's backs, and don't let the vampires get within biting range."

Just then, Deborah let out a slight cough.

"Yes?" Zatanna asked.

"The door's locked tighter than a drum, and kicking it in's liable to draw the attention of every vamp in the building. If it's not too much trouble-"

Zatanna gave a quick nod as she raised her hands.

"Kcolnu eht tnorf rood." she said.

The door swung open, and the two veteran vampire hunters filed into the front hall, with Andrew and Constantine soon following and Zatanna, Sibella, Elsa, and Mystery Inc. bringing up the rear.

"Now what?" Daphne whispered once they were all inside.

"We go for Mary and pray that she doesn't end up giving a bloody wake-up call to however many other vampires are in this place." Constantine replied.

As if in reply, Andrew's brow furrowed.

"I can sense her presence." he said.

"Where?" Shaggy whispered.

"Master bedroom."

"And how do we, like, get there?"

"Take the stairs to the second floor and turn left- it's the door at the end of the hallway."

Shaggy turned and scanned his comrades.

"Sibella, you and Scooby are with me."

"Your funeral, mate." Constantine snarked.

* * *

"And now, Lenoir, I will drive you and Dupree into the murky waters of the bayou- after all, there's only so many victims to go around, and we can't have competition, now can we?" Mary proclaimed to a phantom audience.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Klove, that'd better be you!" she exclaimed.

A few moments later, she opened the door and her eyes went wide as she saw just who was standing before her.

"Didn't I send you to your final death?!" she hissed, pointing a finger at Sibella.

"Let's just say that you should've made sure of that." came the reply.

The elder vampire let out a near-feral snarl.

"This time, I _will_. And as you lie there, sprawled upon the floor amongst the bodies of your friends-"

"Like, enough talk! Have at you!" Shaggy exclaimed as he rushed into the room, making a beeline towards a pair of silver candlesticks.

"You think _those_ will save you?" Mary jeered.

"Have you, like, even seen a vampire flick?" came the retort.

And with that, Shaggy raised the candlesticks, taking care to align them in the shape of a cross. Almost as soon as Mary saw the makeshift cross, she recoiled, desperately trying to back away from the loathed symbol.

"Now, Scoob!" Shaggy exclaimed.

Scooby gave a quick nod and rushed towards the drapes, taking the bottom of them into his mouth.

"Now _pull_!"

There was a sound of rending fabric as the drapes tore, letting sunlight flood into the room and prompting screams of terror from Mary.

_Any minute now, she'll be nothing but dust._ Shaggy thought as he eyed the writhing and cowering Mary.

"No- no! My power- it's draining!" the vampire exclaimed.

"How _bat_ for you." Sibella replied with an uncharacteristic coldness in her voice.

The daughter of Dracula closed the gap, with Mary noticing that her opponent was clutching a hawthorne stake in her hand.

"How are you not-"

"Might have something to do with me not being evil."

A brief silence settled over the room as Sibella focused her gaze on Shaggy.

"Like, you can do the honors."

Sibella nodded and then shoved the stake into Mary's heart with a burst of superhuman strength. Almost immediately, the elder vampire howled in agony.

"Raggy! Rook!" Scooby exclaimed.

Shaggy's gaze locked on to the nearby Mary just in time to see one of her legs crumble into dust. Still screaming, the centuries-old vampire began crawling forward in a desperate attempt to escape the sunlight and hopefully remove the stake from her heart, only for Shaggy to block her off, still wielding the candlesticks as a makeshift cross.

_I feel almost sorry for her now…and now it's gone._ Sibella thought as she looked on at the scene.

From where he stood, Shaggy tried to avert his gaze as Mary's arm crumbled into dust, only for the vampire to fall onto her back and give the entire room one final spectacle. As the screams turned into gurgles, Shaggy, Scooby, and Sibella all winced as Mary's skeletal remaining hand raked across her rapidly decaying face, the skin and flesh now nothing but dust. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the only traces left of Mary Seward were her clothes, a heap of ash-colored dust arranged in the general shape of a human being, and a hawthorne stake.

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

Mary's demise was heavily based off that of the eponymous character in the 1958 film _Horror of Dracula_ (the first entry in Hammer's take on Dracula, and the one that introduced Christopher Lee's version of the character), though admittedly Dracula's demise in that movie didn't involve him being staked.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Morning Sun Had Come Too Soon

Constantine winced as horrific screams from the master bedroom loudly echoed throughout the old house.

"Well, so much for the stealth approach…" he grumbled.

Right on cue, a towering behemoth of a man barged into the foyer, a psychotic grin plastered across his face.

"What've we got here? A bunch of wannabe Van Helsings?" he sneered.

"And who are you?" Fred asked, his voice quavering as he eyed the new arrival.

"The name's Albert King, white boy- but you can call me the Goliath!"

_Okay, there is absolutely no way I can take this guy in a straight fight- he's about a foot taller than me and packing a lot more muscle._ Daphne thought as she looked King over.

"I nommus llaberi-" Zatanna began.

Before she could finish the spell, she was sent flying backwards by one of King's punches, her eventual impact embedding into a wall.

"Anyone else want to try anything?" King gloated.

Daphne reached into a pocket and pulled out the cypress crucifix that Thibodeaux had given her, with King promptly recoiling at the sight.

_Huh- so that trick from the movies _does_ work._ she thought.

Just then, there was a quiet _THWIP!_ from an air gun, followed by King keeling over backwards with a slender stake sticking out of his chest. A quick glance from Daphne revealed the shooter to be Velma.

"Thanks for the save, but are we sure he's fully dead?"

A nearby Andrew turned around.

"Since he's a _very_ young vampire, that stake probably just put him into a coma. Then again, since nobody's likely to come by here and pull the stake out, he might as well have met final death."

"Good to know." Velma replied.

There was a sudden scream from across the foyer, with a quick glance revealing the source to be a vampire clad in an NOPD uniform with a stake through his heart. Standing before him was Elsa, her hands covered in unnaturally bright red blood.

"How'd I do?" she asked.

Before Andrew could let out a response, there was a sound of splintering wood as Deborah kicked another vampiric cop _through_ the banister, with Dmitri staking it almost as soon as it made impact.

"Well, this is a lot easier than I thought!" Daphne exclaimed.

As if in response, a decently-sized group of vampires rushed in from the other side of the foyer, hoping to overwhelm the intruders by way of superior numbers.

"You just had to say it…" Constantine snapped.

From where they stood, Fred and Velma unleashed a veritable barrage of stakes upon the inbound attackers, dropping several of them in the process. Unfortunately for them and the others, however, the casualties inflicted on the vampires' side did little to slow their forward momentum.

_Well, it's been a good run for us._ Daphne thought as her stake pistol finally ran dry.

Just then, Zatanna managed to remove herself from her impact site, rage burning in her eyes.

* * *

"Well, Sibella, Scoob- it's been an honor." Shaggy said as furious pounding from the other side of the now-barricaded door echoed through the bedroom.

"You do realize there's another way out, right?" the young vampire replied.

"Which way?"

Sibella pointed to a nearby window.

"Like, tell me you're not serious."

"It's either that or we get torn to shreds by Mary's minions."

Shaggy gulped.

"Like, you're the boss."

And with that, Sibella threw one of the candlesticks at the window, the glass shattering on impact. A moment later, she turned into a bat, picked up Shaggy and Scooby, and flew out just as a quintet of muscular vampires clad in biker getup broke down the door.

* * *

"Scratch another bloodsucker!" Deborah whooped as she took out one of the incoming vampiric horde, with a nearby Daphne unleashing her martial arts skills on one of its comrades.

"Congratulations! Now if only we weren't running low on stakes of both the launched and handheld varieties, I might be in a more celebratory mood!" Constantine replied as his stake pistol ran dry.

Just then, he got an idea and turned to face Zatanna.

"Z, mind giving us a little help?"

"With pleasure."

And with that, Zatanna cleared her throat.

"Nrub eht ginkcatta seripmav!"

Almost immediately, the remaining vampires that hadn't been staked began screaming as _something_ burned them from within.

" …my god!" Velma whispered as the screams echoed through her mind.

Within a handful of minutes, all that was left of the latest iteration of the Cult of the Blood Red Moon were a collection of staked vampires and several piles of ash-colored dust and their former wearers' clothes.

"So, this is how it ends." Daphne said.

_For now, anyways._ Andrew thought.

Just then, a purple bat clutching Shaggy and Scooby descended just in front of the front door, taking care to let its cargo go before turning back into Sibella.

"Sorry for not getting here sooner, but given the position of the master bedroom, we had to fly around the house!" the young vampire exclaimed.

There was a pregnant silence over the assembled group.

"I take it was your work that managed to wake up the rest of the vamps?" Constantine finally said.

"…sorry?" Shaggy meekly said.

"Well, it doesn't quite matter now. We've won, Mary's been defeated, and New Orleans is down a whole lot of vampires. Though I can't help but feel we missed a few…"

* * *

Three coffins sat in the dark recesses of the plantation wine cellar, a sign above them reading "FAILURES TO GET WITH THE PROGRAM". Suddenly, one of the coffin lids was flung open, revealing a blue-eyed brunette inside.

"Finally, that Seward chick's voice is outta my head! Now I can actually _enjoy_ the perks of this whole vampirism thing!" she exclaimed.

Just then, muffled noises came from the other two coffins.

"Okay, okay- I'll let you guys out! Just give me a minute!"

With a burst of superhuman strength, the brunette tore one of the lids off, revealing a black-haired man with green eyes.

"Nobody puts Johnny Charisma in a corner, living or dead!" the man announced.

The sound of someone pounding against the lid of the final coffin soon filled the air.

"Do we have to let the nerd out, Christy?"

"It's _Christine_\- though if it's all the same to you, just call me Miss Bell." the brunette replied.

"Whatever, toots." Johnny said.

Christine made her way to the remaining coffin and ripped off the lid, revealing another brunette, this one wearing a pair of prescription glasses.

"…are we-"

"Yes, Miss Jones. We're back to the world of the living, and if the absence of Seward's voice is anything to go by, we're free to do our own thing from here on out!"

"Please, call me Tanya. Also, if it's all the same to you guys, I really need to get back to Loyola and explain why I've been absent for the past several days."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

If you're wondering where Christine Bell, Johnny Charisma, and Albert King are from, they're from the 2015 video game _Batman: Arkham Knight_, where owing to them receiving transfusions of Joker's tainted blood and failing to receive an antidote in time (long story), they were mutating into what could best be described as copies of the Joker. Needless to say, this is not the case with their Earth-55 versions.

As for why Mary went down so easily in the last chapter, keep in mind that a) she was being weakened by her exposure to sunlight and b) that a number of vampires in film kind of went out in rather ignominious ways- going back to the Hammer _Dracula_ example, his death in 1966's _Dracula- Prince of Darkness_ saw him go out by falling through the ice of his castle's frozen moat.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Mystery Is Our Mistress

"So, Daphne- how's that book of yours coming along?" Velma asked.

" If we're being honest, I think I've finally got something going, though I'm wondering how much we should base it off recent events."

"Leave out the du Sang killings and the Grimwood girls, and change that vampire cult into…oh, I don't know, some other kind of shadowy vampire organization who secretly hold sway over New Orleans. Other than that, I think it'd be safe to use the raid on the plantation."

"Thanks- oh, one more thing!"

Velma stopped mid-step.

"Yes?"

"Once I've got some more material written, would you be willing to be my beta reader?"

"Sure."

* * *

"Well, it's been nice working with you and your friends, but Zatanna and I can't stick around. JLD business, you understand." Constantine said to Scooby and Shaggy.

"Well, it's been, like, nice knowing you guys." Shaggy replied.

Zatanna then proceeded to shoot the two an irritated glare.

" You two owe me for all the food you bought." she said.

"Z, doesn't your day job-"

"Yes, but it's the principle of the thing, John."

"Well, if that's the case, why don't you have them do you a favor down the road?"

Just then, Shaggy's eyes went wide.

"Like, what kind of a favor?"

"I'll think of something when the time comes." Zatanna cryptically said.

* * *

"So, where're we going next?" Scrappy excitedly asked.

"That's a good question- I mean, I didn't exactly come down here planning on meeting up with you, Velma, and Shaggy and Scooby, much less those Grimwood girls." Fred replied.

"How about we pay a visit to that 'Gotham' place that I've read about in the newspapers?" Sibella piped up.

There was a brief silence.

"Well, I've heard worse ideas." Fred finally said.

* * *

" Are you sure you don't want to continue working with us, Mister Dibny?" Velma asked.

"Sorry, Miss Dinkley, but mystery is my mistress and I must heed her sweet call. That being said, I'd be more than happy to team up with you and your friends the next time we meet." came the reply.

"Well, in that case, it's been a pleasure working with you."

"Likewise, Miss Dinkley."

* * *

_Pointe de Jordaine_

An ill-groomed man entered the master bedroom, an urn clutched in his hands. Almost as soon as he stepped inside, his eyes drifted to a pile of ash-colored dust on the floor sitting next an empty dress and pair of shoes.

"Don't worry, Mistress. Klove is here to make sure you live again. Klove will take you to the ritual place all the way in Crystal Cove, and he will ensure that you walk once more…"

* * *

Four figures stood outside the plantation house, their eyes focused on the setting sun.

"So now what do we do?" one of them asked.

"I say we blow this pop stand and take this show on the road, my well-muscled friend! Can't you just see the billboards?"

King let out a snort.

"What about the chick with the Coke-bottle glasses? Where's she fit into this, Charisma?"

"Let her go back to school, amigo! We'll still be around once she's finished! Now, Miss Bell, baby- you got any ideas as to where we go for our first stop on our cross-country tour?"

"How about Star City?"

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

This should probably go without saying, but we will be seeing Mystery Inc. and company's trip to Gotham. As for why Constantine and Zatanna are going their own separate way from the others, it's because I'm hoping to do more with Mystery Inc. and the Grimwood girls as characters, and the two members of the JLD have, in retrospect, been kind of hogging the spotlight.

As for who this 'Klove' fellow is, he's Mary's human servant and is currently the only original character in Earth-55 who's going to have a role in stories to come (for the record, Tanya Jones is based off the character of Tanya from _Batman: Red Rain)_. And yes, he's named after a character from the Hammer _Dracula_ series.

Also, the fact that both this and "In Blackest Day" ended up clocking in at 14 chapters is complete coincidence.


End file.
